ATTRACTIONS
 
YAS MALL
Where: Yas Island
What: Having cost around Dhs. 550 million, this is set to be one of the biggest shopping centres in the region (and the biggest in Abu Dhabi). It’ll be home to 400 stores, four international department stores, a fashion boulevard, a 20-screen cinema complex and a Geant hypermarket.
Opens: Late 2014
 
GUGGENHEIM ABU DHABI
Where: Saadiyat Island
What: Expected to display what it calls ‘the most important artistic achievements of our time’. Entry to the museum will be by one of the building’s cones, which will be covered with panes of blue glass on the outside. Inside you’ll find a 350-seat theatre, which will hold lectures, symposiums and dance and theatre productions. It’ll also include 13,000 square metres of gallery space and 18,000 square metres of exhibition space.
Opens: 2017
 
Louvre Abu Dhabi
Where: Saadiyat Island
What: A joint venture between the Abu Dhabi and French governments, Louvre Abu Dhabi will display art, manuscripts and objects of historical, cultural and sociological significance. All objects will be displayed chronologically, the idea being that visitors go on a journey through time. The museum will display its own national collection, with the Louvre in France also contributing exhibits from time to time. The Louvre Abu Dhabi’s dome is the size of five football pitches and the design is inspired by the interlaced palm leaves traditionally used to roof houses.
Opens: 2015
 
ZAYED NATIONAL MUSEUM
Where: Saadiyat Island
What: This spectacular museum will tell the story of HH Shiekh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the unification of the UAE and the history of the region. The museum’s design is themed on the feathers of a falcon. Each steel feather contains a gallery space and the tallest will be 125 metres high. There’ll also be landscape gardens for visitors to stroll around.
Opens: 2016
 
HOTELS
 
5* Hotel Corniche
Construction began in July on a $180 million, five-star Hotel in Abu Dhabi’s Corniche. The project, the first branded hotel in the region, will include signature restaurants, entertainment and meeting facilities, the renowned Hard Rock Cafe as well as 378 rooms. This project is to be completed between November 2016 and the first quarter of 2017.
 
BAB AL QASR
Where: Corniche, next to Jumeirah At Etihad Towers
What: This two-pronged Moroccan-themed building will feature 408 five-star hotel rooms set across 37 floors in one tower, and 229 serviced apartments, shops, indoor and outdoor pools and five restaurants in the other.
Opens: Early 2015
 
FOUR SEASONS HOTEL
Where: Al Maryah Island. Walk through The Galleria and you’ll already see partitions up marking where the Four Seasons will be built.
What: A 34-storey, five-star hotel with 190 hotel rooms, 54 serviced apartments, five food and beverage outlets, a gym, rooftop pool and 300 square metres of garden alongside a waterfront promenade.
Opens: 2016
 
HILTON ABU DHABI SAADIYAT ISLAND RESORT 
Where: On the coast at Saadiyat Island
What: A hotel with 366 rooms, plus nine restaurants and bars, a health club, pool and spa.
Opens: Late 2015


MIXED USE DEVELOPMENTS
 
Leaf Tower
Leaf Tower is a 60-storey, 228m-high mixed-use tower being developed at Reem Island. The commercial and residential building will consist of 24 office floors, 22 residential floors, 3 service floors, a rooftop swimming pool and a health club, with work scheduled to be finished in 2015. The mega project has been valued at Dhs200million and is deemed to be one of the future hallmarks of the island.
 
Khalifa City
Work on the new Khalifa City project is set to start soon, accommodating more than 300,000 people once completed. The 49 square-kilometer-project will be located in a triangular position between Mohammed Bin Zayed City, Khalifa City A and Khalifa City B. The new project is one of the key aspirations of Plan Abu Dhabi 2030 and its design is set to enhance the status of Abu Dhabi as a global sustainable city.
 
SOWWAH CENTRAL
Where: Al Maryah Island, adjacent to The Galleria at Sowwah Square.
What: A 3.1 million square foot shopping and entertainment destination that will feature two department stores, a cinema, more than 350 shops, a food market and a waterfront promenade at an estimated cost of Dhs. 3.6 billion.
Opens: 2017
 
TI’ME JOUHARA CORNICHE APARTMENTS
Where: Abu Dhabi Corniche
What: This 42-storey property will feature 262 studio and one-bedroom apartments with facilities including a health club with swimming pool and all-day dining restaurant.
Opens: 2015
 
TRANSPORT

​Abu Dhabi Midfield Terminal
Abu Dhabi’s new airport terminal will be about one-and-a-half times bigger than Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport and Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5. Hoping to be fully operational by 2017, the Abu Dhabi Midfield Terminal will reach a total of 700,000sqm in area, at a cost of Dhs10.8billion. The first of 18 steel arches that form the roof has been completed, with the rest planned to be built by the end of the year. The new terminal which will be used by Etihad Airways, aims to bring in 30million passengers per year and will also include 20,000sqm of shops and restaurants.
 
Etihad Rail
The new rail project will link major industrial zones, cities and ports in the UAE, and will eventually connect with the GCC railway. The Dhs40bn Etihad Rail will be a 1,200km railway line that will extend across the UAE, from the border of Saudi Arabia to the border of Oman. The network will also integrate with local commuter services such as the Dubai Metro and the planned Abu Dhabi Metro. It is being built over three stages and is scheduled to be operational by 2018.
 
Green Road
Abu Dhabi’s Department of Transport has announced plans for the first green road in the Middle East, which will connect the capital to Dubai. The five-kilometre pilot project will link the existing Abu Dhabi- Dubai main road (E11) and the new Abu Dhabi-Dubai main road (E311). With the project construction expected to begin in 2015, it will act as a model for future roads, adopting globally accepted standards of sustainable practices and will use environmental friendly materials such as recycled asphalt, concrete aggregates and scrap rubber tyres.
 
Electric Bus
As part of its efforts to promote sustainable transport, the Abu Dhabi Department of Transport has commenced trial operations of the region’s first fully electric bus. The vehicle is a standard city bus that uses a plug-in charging technology, the most cost-effective strategy. The battery can reach 80 per cent of capacity within three hours and 99 per cent in four hours. Each full charge has an estimated range of 200km and the bus is currently running on various routes over a six-month trial per